{"id":93,"date":"2015-05-06T20:07:53","date_gmt":"2015-05-06T10:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/?p=93"},"modified":"2015-05-06T20:07:53","modified_gmt":"2015-05-06T10:07:53","slug":"mission-accomplished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/?p=93","title":{"rendered":"Mission Accomplished"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jon and I\u00a0vacationed in Australia in 2011 and I always felt a nagging sense that we missed out on\u00a0something. I am here today to let you know that nagging sense is completely gone now that we&#8217;ve seen&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Roo1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-131\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Roo1-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Roo1\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Roo1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Roo1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Roo1.jpg 1572w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Roo2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-medium wp-image-132 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Roo2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Roo2\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Roo2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Roo2-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s right, not just one, but TWO kangaroos in the wild. I can&#8217;t explain how exciting this was for me. I am not sure why, but it was just fantastic and now I feel like I&#8217;m really having an Aussie experience.<\/p>\n<p>Backing up a bit, Jon and I took a trip this past weekend to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mornington Peninsula<\/a>. Jon rented a car and managed to do a superb job of driving us around on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car all weekend.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Jon-Driving.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-125\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Jon-Driving-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Jon Driving\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Jon-Driving-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Jon-Driving-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It took about an hour to drive to Mornington, the town we stayed in. We found a place to grab lunch in town and decided to head to Arthur&#8217;s Seat where I&#8217;d read we&#8217;d have a decent chance of seeing wildlife. We hiked the Arthur&#8217;s Seat circuit which allowed us to see these amazing views&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AlbertsSeat.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-121\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AlbertsSeat-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"View from Albert's Seat\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AlbertsSeat-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AlbertsSeat-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Against our better judgement, we ventured in this dark forest\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Scary-Forest.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-133\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Scary-Forest-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Scary Forest\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Scary-Forest-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Scary-Forest-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Scary-Forest.jpg 1572w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>to see what we could see. And we saw NOTHING. Don&#8217;t get me wrong, it was beautiful,<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-134\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/ASHike-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"ASHike\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/ASHike-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/ASHike-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>but NO\u00a0roos, NO koalas, and thankfully no snakes. As I dejectedly walked back to the car, Jon got my attention and pointed out the best thing ever &#8211; a kangaroo in the wild! And then we realized there was another roo. Absolutely fantastic.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;d already won the weekend, but decided to stay around anyway and checked\u00a0into our lodging to celebrate.\u00a0We stayed at the <a href=\"http:\/\/morningtonbandb.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mornington Bed and Breakfast<\/a> which was fantastic. The view was even better than advertised and while the window between the bathroom and the bedroom was a little odd, putting down the curtain solved that problem.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BandBView.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-123\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BandBView-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"BandBView\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BandBView-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BandBView-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BandBview2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-124\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BandBview2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"BandBview2\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BandBview2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BandBview2-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We decided to check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.godskitchenmornington.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">God&#8217;s Kitchen<\/a>, a restaurant and bar in a former church, a strange combination that somehow worked.\u00a0We had a couple of good meat burgers\u00a0for dinner and a couple of Sierra Nevadas to wash them down before settling in to watch whatever random movie was on TV.<\/p>\n<p>The next day we enjoyed a home cooked breakie at the b&amp;b and headed out along the coast to explore. We ended up in <a href=\"http:\/\/parkweb.vic.gov.au\/explore\/parks\/point-nepean-national-park\" target=\"_blank\">Point Nepean National Park<\/a>\u00a0where we hiked\u00a0all the way out to the point with fantastic views along the way there and back.<\/p>\n<p><em>Point Nepean Views<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_127\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PointNeapanView1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-127\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PointNeapanView1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Point Neapan View\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PointNeapanView1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PointNeapanView1-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-127\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PointNeapanView2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-128\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PointNeapanView2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"PointNeapanView2\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PointNeapanView2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PointNeapanView2-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-126\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Point-Neapan-Jon-Beach-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Point Neapan Jon Beach\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Point-Neapan-Jon-Beach-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Point-Neapan-Jon-Beach-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Since we ended up hiking much more than originally planned, we decided we deserved a big lunch at the lovely <a href=\"http:\/\/www.portseahotel.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">Portsea Hotel<\/a> followed by some scenic driving on the way to a pit stop at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.redhillbrewery.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">Red Hill Brewery<\/a>\u00a0where we ran into a fellow wahoo &#8211; go figure!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_129\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-129\" style=\"width: 285px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Portsea-Hotel.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-129\" src=\"http:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Portsea-Hotel-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The Portsea Hotel\" width=\"285\" height=\"214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Portsea-Hotel-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Portsea-Hotel-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 285px) 100vw, 285px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-129\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Portsea Hotel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That evening we decided to get Chinese food and found that the restaurant was BYO. We weren&#8217;t sure if that just meant wine or whatever. Fortunately, it was whatever, so we ventured up the street to buy beer and headed back for delicious Chinese food. I was about to order beef with chilli sauce. Luckily the waitress suggested I get rainbow\u00a0beef instead. It turned out to be crispy beef which my Bowie pals will know well from Grace&#8217;s Fortune. So good! After that we decided to watch Young Guns from the b&amp;b&#8217;s DVD collection &#8211; shockingly, it doesn&#8217;t hold up.<\/p>\n<p>The next day we made our way back to the big city\u00a0with Jon basically a total expert at driving on the wrong side now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jon and I\u00a0vacationed in Australia in 2011 and I always felt a nagging sense that we missed out on\u00a0something. I am here today to let you know that nagging sense is completely gone now that we&#8217;ve seen&#8230; That&#8217;s right, not just one, but TWO kangaroos in the wild. I can&#8217;t explain how exciting this was &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/?p=93\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Mission Accomplished<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143,"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions\/143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handelblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}